Glee
by ariel2me
Summary: For the prompt: Mellario of Norvos & Arianne Martell laughter.


Belandra added another pillow to support Mellario's aching back. She could barely sleep a wink while lying flat on her back these days, not even for a brief midday nap.

"Not long now, m'lady," Belandra said, in a tone meant to be reassuring. "The maester said it's almost time."

Mellario grimaced. "Maester Caleotte is not always accurate in his prediction. Arianne came more than a fortnight after the date he confidently stated. I still remember how perplexed he looked, pacing restlessly and rubbing his bald head as if _that_ would give him the answer to why he was so wrong in his prediction."

"Ah, but our little princess likes to take her own sweet time," Belandra said, in a fond and indulgent tone. "She will not be rushed or hurried to do anything until she's good and ready to do it herself."

Mellario smiled. "That's true enough."

The little princess in question was peeking through the slightly open door of her mother's bedchamber. Mellario caught sight of her daughter and was about to call out her name, but Arianne placed her hand over her mouth and shook her head vigorously, signalling her mother not to alert Belandra to her presence. Belandra was strict about making sure that Lady Mellario was not disturbed when she was meant to be resting, and Arianne would have been sent back to her room immediately.

Arianne's effort at concealment was futile, however. Belandra had already noticed her presence. Frowning, she asked, "Why are you here all by yourself, Princess? Where is Kendra?" Kendra was Arianne's nurse, and Belandra's younger sister. "Did she leave you on your own? Surely she knows better than that. I've told her and told her -"

"It's not her fault!" Arianne exclaimed, defending her nurse. "You mustn't blame Kendra. I tricked her, you see. I told her we're playing a game, and she must hide from me because she's a nice lady and I'm a wicked man who's coming to abduct her. I started counting loudly from one to ten so she would go hide herself, and then I came here, to see Mother."

"That was very naughty of you, Princess," said Belandra. "You know the maester said that your mother must not be disturbed when she is resting. You can see her later at supper, like you do every night."

Arianne pouted. "She's _always_ resting. Rest, rest, rest. How much longer do you have to rest, Mother?"

"Only until your sister or your brother comes," Mellario replied, gesturing to Arianne to come sit beside her on the bed. Arianne did so eagerly and swiftly, before Belandra could object.

"M'lady, the maester said -" Belandra started to say, in a low voice.

"Never mind the maester," Mellario replied. "It is not as if I could really sleep at midday, as he is always telling me I should. It is too hot for that." And her back was causing her too much discomfort. There was no respite from the pain lately, except during the few hours of sleep she managed to snatch each night.

"I'll bring something from the kitchen to cool you down, m'lady."

"A sweet drink," Arianne interjected. "My mother would like a sweet drink, Belandra," she said, solemnly.

"Aye? Or is the sweet drink for _you_ , Princess?"

Arianne giggled. "It's for _all_ of us."

"When is she going to come, my sister or my brother?" Arianne asked her mother, after Belandra left.

"When she, or he, is good and ready," Mellario replied.

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to see the world. A new world."

"Well, tell her to come out soon, then. What is she waiting for? She's been in there long enough," Arianne grumbled. "I could only count to one hundred when she first went into your belly, and now I can count to ten thousand, but she's _still_ in there. It's ever so long. I've never known _anything_ to take this long."

Mellario burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh again, a _genuine_ laughter, rather than a polite one, induced for the sake of courtesy.

"That _is_ quite a long time. But can you truly count to ten thousand now?" she asked her daughter.

Arianne nodded. Then, grinning, she said, "I know how to make my sister or brother come out, Mother."

"Do you now? Are you Maester Caleotte's new apprentice?" teased Mellario.

"I'm going to tell her a story. A story about a princess and her ten thousand sisters."

"Ten thousand _sisters_? Don't you mean ten thousand ships?"

Arms folded across her chest, Arianne said, severely, "Am _I_ telling the story, or are _you_ telling the story?"

Kissing her daughter's cheek, Mellario said, "Forgive me. Go on, continue your story."

"Her sisters came in all shapes and sizes. Some were short, some were tall, some had narrow waists, and some had waists like yours, Mother. I mean, yours as it is now, not like how it was before. Some liked to sing and dance, others loved to ride horses and hunt boars. And they all got on a ship to sail to … to a new world."

"Did this princess quarrel with any of her sisters during this journey to a new world?"

"Of course not. She loved them very much, and they loved her too. They teased each other sometimes, but they didn't fight. At least, they never did, until one day, they rescued a stranger from drowning in the deep, dark sea."

"A _mysterious_ stranger from the sea. How intriguing. What happened after they rescued this stranger?"

Resting her head on her mother's belly, Arianne whispered, "If you want to know how the story ends, then you must come out. Come out now. Come out today."

Mellario chuckled. "Are you trying to bribe your sister or brother with the ending of that story?"

Arianne sat up. "Not _bribe_. A bribe is a _bad_ thing. Father said so, I heard him telling his squires."

"Entice, then."

Arianne shook her head. That was not a word she knew.

"Encourage?"

"Yes! I'm trying to encourage my sister or brother to come out. If she wants to know how the story ends, then she must come out from your belly. Then you will not be tired all the time, and your back will not hurt so much. I don't like it when you're hurt, Mother."

The sound Mellario made was halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Oh, Arianne." She hugged her daughter, and they remained locked in that embrace until Belandra returned with the sweet drink.


End file.
